Still left out of the Basketball Hall: Moncrief, KJ, Rodman, King

*Duke 61, Butler 59: Tremendous national-title game last night, too bad Gordon Hayward just missed that half-court heave at the buzzer. I think Kansas over Memphis in OT two years ago was at least as thrilling–or more, since there were several more huge shots in that one–but this one had the great Butler vs. the Colossus vibe the whole way, which added a lot of oomph.

This game cried out for Gus Johnson’s touch, by the way. I’m being conspiratorial here, but I wonder if all the plaudits Johnson has gotten for his boisterous/fun play-calls (especially during the Xavier-Kansas State thiller) is rubbing some CBS people the wrong way. Xavier-KState, the game of the tournament if you ask me, was mysteriously absent from the “One Shining Moment” montage last night, and Johnson’s voice did not appear on it at all.

Speaking of being overshadowed by Johnson… I’ve never been a Jim Nantz fan. Period. And man, he really seemed to fall off dramatically this Final Four–from his mistaken score call near the end of Butler-Michigan State, to fouling up names regularly.

If you’re going to be bland, you should at least be accurate. It took Billy Packer about 5 declining years to sound this bad, and yes, Packer did sound this bad at the end. Nantz got there in a blink.

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-Dennis Johnson, the greatest eligible player who had never made it into the Hall of Fame, finally was elected to Springfield yesterday.

Finally.

We can go back over old territory, about how the Hall of Fame procedure is so bizarre and secretive and clubby, and I will soon. But at least they finally did right and voted in DJ, one of the purest winners I’ve ever seen.

Which got me thinking–and that is always a dangerous thing, as you know…

Now that Johnson is in, who is next up as the Best Eligible Player Not in the Hall? And what if I assembled a Top 10 List of the Best Eligible Non-Famers?

Yes, yes, why not. Here it is (* Important note: This does note include players who haven’t been retired for at least five years. And I’m not saying ALL of these guys deserve induction. Most of them do. I’m saying these are the best who haven’t made it. And I’m sure I forgot a few worthy players.)

—Best player not in HOF: Bernard King. In my mind, he was always right behind Johnson for this honor/non-honor, and now Bernard is all alone. He has to get in eventually. Just has to.

Bill Simmons has detailed it nicely in his book–King was 6-7, but never shot lower than 52.8% in a dominant six-season span with the Warriors and Knicks, while he was averaging between 21.9 and (a league-leading) 32.9 points per game, and nobody filled the lane on a break more ferociously.

He only played two seasons with the Warriors–1980-81 and ’81-82, coming back from alcohol problems and then leaving for the Knicks, but my goodness, you had to see him to believe him back then. My favorite Warrior of all-time. The fiercest, most efficient and worthiest guy in the league.

–The rest of the list, by position…

C–Artis Gilmore: All-time NBA leader is career FG% at 59.9%, 1972 ABA MVP, incredibly durable and imposing shot-blocker. Never known as a winner, but does that explain reportedly getting 0 votes from the election committee for three straight years, which rendered him ineligible until 2012?

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C–Bill Laimbeer: Backbone to two Detroit Pistons champion teams, 4-time All-Star, all-around blue-collar anti-hero. Not my favorite player, but no way Rodman, Salley and Aguirre could’ve been reined in without Laimbeer and Isiah leading the way.

F–Dennis Rodman: 7-time NBA rebounding leader, 2-time Defensive Player of the Year, 5-time champion. Crazy as crazy gets, but he was a major part of some of the greatest teams of this era.

F–Marques Johnson: Consistent, efficient scorer over almost a decade, 5-time All-Star, just an overall plus player. Until I just looked up his career stats, I had no idea Johnson played the last 10 games of his career with the Warriors, in 1989, after a two-year break. Weird.

F–Charles Oakley: A personal favorite of mine (and Michael Jordan’s), the Oak Tree averaged 9.5 rebounds over a 19-year career, played in an amazing 1,282 games (given his physical style) and committed 4,421 fouls (sixth all-time, not so stunning).

Chicago traded him away before they started winning titles, but Oakley averaged over 10 rebounds in 144 career playoff games with the Bulls, Knicks and Raptors, and remains the one guy no NBA player–or human–ever wanted to cross.

F–Chris Mullin: Even if you toss aside his Wooden Award at St. John’s (which counts for the Basketball Hall), Mullin brings the stats–he shot 50.9% in his career, as a non-fast, perimeter scorer, finished in the top-8 in scoring four times, and had a five-season span with the Warriors where he never scored less than 25.1 per, grabbed less than 5 rebounds or had less than 3.5 assists per game or shot worse than 50.9% from the field.

Also was a member of two gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic teams–in 1984 as a collegian and on the Dream Team in 1992.

F–Bobby Jones: Incredibly versatile and tough forward for 76ers in their early-’80s hey-day, possibly caused the creation of the Sixth Man of the Year Award, which he won in 1983. Part of the Sixers’ 1983 title team. Beloved by his teammates, just like DJ.

G–Kevin Johnson: At his apex, in the early-1990s, no point guard got into the paint quicker or finished stronger or scared the hell out of defenders most frequently. Simply put, at times, Johnson could not be guarded, especially in the open court.

Even with leg injuries wiping out large portions of his career, KJ has a career assist average of 9.1 per, seventh best all-time.

G–Sidney Moncrief: One of the best defensive guards of all-time (two-time Defensive Player of the Year) and toughest players period. Leg injuries forced a relatively quick exit at 33.

–Coach: George Karl, who became eligible this year, according to my reading of the eligibility rules. Three times to the conference finals, once to the NBA finals. 983 victories.

I’d put Don Nelson in, too, but Karl gets the nod as the most deserving because of his NBA finals trip (Nelson: 0) and because of Karl’s 17 straight seasons without a losing record. Karl’s last losing season was his final one with the Warriors, 1987-88.

I’m also putting Karl here because I’m pulling for him in his fight vs. throat cancer.

Tim Kawakami

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Not only was Jim Nantz off his game, BUT the CBS producers & especially the director should be FIRED for the bizarre angle shots that we had to endure in the second half.
A typical CBS production.

shasta_503

Purvis Short or Jamaal Wilkes anybody ? Both smooth as silk …. and similar stats to Gus Williams …

Jaeger

Bernard — Maybe. Played during a bad era that was lost to drugs. Somebody has to qualify from those days.
Rodman — Yes. Scoreboard, baby. Dominant player at his position on 2 teams (well, on Pistons he was young, but he still got rings).
Mully — No. Love him, but was a disappointment.
Laimbeer — No. A very good center but no better than Cartwright or Mychal Thompson.
Sydney Moncrief — possibly greatest name ever, but not HOF.
Bobby Jones — prolly not. Dunkin’ white boy but couldn’t nudge Marc (worst starter to win a title?) Iavaroni out of the starting line-up.
Nelson — Yes, but only if he promises to retire.
Oakley — No. No rings, and a scowl and a hard pick are not enough.
KJ — No. Not enough. Had he just won that title, then maybe.

Stan…

The game was broadcast in 3-d. That might have influenced the camera angles. Nantz? eh, a great borecaster.Well,I dont pay much attention anymore to national ‘casters. They are all from the same mold.
Sydney Moncrief- hall of fame name. Just saying it is fun.

Told you so about Duke. See,like i said -its fixed. Not like mob fixed,but institutionalized fixed..its in the minds of the officials,the networks, the refs…the big seeded school will get the win. I KNEW Butler would never get a foul call to win,or a miracle finish-to win. The collective unconscious of sports and power.

Stan…

Stanford woman? I say,if they are within single digits by the third quarter-have a parade- as its all UConn Huskys eating Stanfords tiring maidens after that. Behind by 9 in the third to losing going away by 22 or so. I would be surprised if Stanford doesnt give them a good fight for the first two quarters.

Erik

Actually Mullin finished around the rim A LOT. More than most SFs. Yes – he had a good jumper but he used that to penetrate a lot and knew how to use the rim to not get his shot blocked. Yes – he was seemingly slow-footed with no hops but dude was a premier finisher. Saying he was a “perimeter scorer” is just wrong.

james

Jaeger:

Laimbeer just as good as Bill Cartwright?? Are you kidding me? Laimbeer was the Pistons leader in win shares during the championship run. Went to 4 all-star games, led the league in total rebounds twice, was arguably the Pistons second most important piece on their championship roster. Led the league in total defensive rebounds for a near 10 year span.

Cartwright? REALLY? The guy was decent. The Bulls gave him the first 2-3 shots in the game, and then he was asked to stay out of the way and defend. That Bill Cartwright?

Laimbeer’s 3 WNBA championships as coach and GM not-withstanding. Had Bill Laimbeer been a Laker, a Celtic, or a Bull with MJ with the same career – He would be in the Hall of Fame.

sean sullivan

Go take a look at some of the names in the HOF and then tell me again why Don Nelson is not in it. It is ridiculous. Was on at least 3 NBA champion teams as a player and is now the winningest coach of all-time. With guys like Bob Hurley Sr and Jerry Buss going into the Hall and Nelson not, it has turned into a joke.

Dale Zelinsky

Laimbeer deserves to be in. Especially if you count all the intangibles that don’t show up in the box score.

james

Don Nelson should go in, and I think he will.

Laimbeer should go, so should Rodman. Jack Sikma should also go in as well. Bernard King as too.

No to Oakley though. Solid solid player, just not as good as any of the players above.

TI

TK – Assuming Larry Ellison gets the Ws, any chance that he can tease Ben Howland out of Westwood in exchange for a big pile of cash? Howland would bring a ruthless, defensive-minded aesthetic to the W’s which has been solely lacking the past 20 years… After reading Hollinger’s list of top defensive players, it’s amazing to see how many are recent Howland disciples (Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, Mbah a Moute, Aaron Afflalo).

shooter

so even though mullin made it as part of the 92 Dream Team Roster he still hasnt made it for his individual accomplishments?

i dont get it at all

earl monroe

No question Rodman should go into the hall at some point, he made teams better, period, you cannot win championships without this type of player

Stan…

Also,that Don Nelson humble explanation of why he’s not in? If he was truly humble he would say “Oh, all the backstabbing ingreat person I’ve been has caused the almost total lack of repsect I get” “But,they dont have three homes in Maui with 80 inch Plasma 3D Tv” Then,grinning takes a puff of his Cuban cigar,ironically paid for by his Mark Cuban lawsuit winnings.
That’s what he would say.

Stan, they play two 20-minute halves, not quarters, just like the boys. Just sayin’

MK1

Hey, how about Michael Ray Richardson!? The quote, “The ship be sinking,” should be reason enough for enshrinement. 🙂

Todd

No way Rodman makes it. His personality aside (which will keep anyone out of the HOF), he was strictly a one-dimensional player that happened to be surrounded by great players. If he makes it, so should Larry Smith, Michael Cage or any other great rebounder without any other discernible skills.

Dale Zelinsky

“No way Rodman makes it. His personality aside (which will keep anyone out of the HOF), he was strictly a one-dimensional player ”

The one dimension is one of the best (if not they best) defensive player ever. Yeah that should keep him out. It wasn’t just about rebounding. I question whether or not you have seen him play with such an ignorant comment.

Jim

#12: “so even though mullin made it as part of the 92 Dream Team Roster he still hasnt made it for his individual accomplishments?”

Correct. The basketball hall of fame, unlike the other three major sports, occasionally inducts entire teams, but that is entirely separate from the individual candidacies or enshrinements of any of that team’s players or coaches – kind of like how the Rock & Roll HOF will induct someone like Eric Clapton as a member of three different bands AND as a solo artist. Jordan, Stockton, Bird, etc. will all be inducted for the second time as Dream Teamers. Chris Mullin goes in now as a member of the Dream Team and is still a strong candidate for individual enshrinement in the future. Christian Laettner goes in as a member of the Dream Team and…um, yeah.

uweblab

Fitz for the broadcasting section of the HALL OF FAME !!!!

Stan…

Kelsey-LOL I did get it as it sunk in as I watched….

Nice try Stanford girls. If Jayne had kept that weight off..but thats another story,cant blame her. Tara isnt much on the quick timeout is she?..she lets the other teams MO get a goin…

Steve

Gregg Popovich belongs in the HOF before either Nelson or Karl

chuckwagon

Agreed Tim, Mullin belongs in based on the body of his work. Remember this is the basketball hall of fame, not the NBA hall of fame. Wooden award in college, epic battles v Ewing and co from Georgetown, Olympic gold medal, stellar pro career… makes one wonder what the criteria in Springfield is…

ray

Tarpley on the list just to see if we read that far?

alan t.

It’s a crime that Rodman isn’t in, and will probably never make it in. The funniest thing is, he’d actually look like a very normal guy on the court playing in today’s NBA. Especially if he played in Denver. And even as crazy as he was, he’s probably a billion times more sane than Delonte West will ever be.

earl monroe

#24 exactly right

tkh

I generally enjoy your columns but today’s column about Nelson is beyond tiresome. okay, we get it, you don’t like Nelson.He is a political survivor and a schemer. But to state that is the reason he has won so many games is ridiculous. He has resurrected three franchises during his career. To state that no one is left from the team he inherited and to imply somehow that it is all because of Nelson’s scheming is disengenous at best. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, etc. etc. left for either more money, selfishness or more playing time not simply because of Nelson. To imply Biedrens and Ellis are malingering because of Nelson is an insult to them. Stating that the reason he hasn’t won a championship is because his players don’t have his trust doesn’t take into account the upset over Dallas. I am pretty sure that if Nelson had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pipen or Bird/mcHale/Johnson/Parish he would have picked up at least one championship. I was wondering how you were going to dismiss the team’s obvious joy at Nelson’s accomplishement and I guess now I have my answer. I don’t think there is anyone who believes he should still be coaching the Warriors. But to diminish his entire career as you have done in your column is not right either. Enough with your obsession. It’s a tired act.

chuckwagon

Well said #28, more columns like this are not what the sports editors feel is what creates buzz. We have become a society where there has to be gossip, ill will, controversy. or trash to get the masses to react. Damn shame, cause I know for a fact that TK is a sharp, knoweldgable, sportswriter.

booniedog

How can you not pick A.C. Green? Didn’t he play like 400000 games without missing one? Got rings too.